Page 93 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

I look at her, take a moment to adjust her vamp bangs and brush my fingers through her hair. Then I take her face in both hands and plant a kiss right on her lips.

“Nope, perfect,” I say.

“Agreed!” Wren supplies.

We head down the stairs together and I open the door to the apothecary and wave the guys in. I see them talk between each other for a few moments. Satoshi’s bitching; I can tell by the stupid face he makes and the way his shoulders hike toward his ears.

Then Wren comes to stand next to me in the doorway and I see his brain go offline for a solid ten seconds before he just opens the sliding door of the van and gets out.

“Tosh? What the fuck?” Fletch barks after him in that perfect Irish way.

“Ahhh,” Oren says knowingly from the front seat. “Our stowaway is here.”

One by one, they all trickle out of the van and spill into Lillith’s shop. She’s taken up her spot on her stool behind the counter, tugging on the ends of her hair with an awkward smile.

“Sorry I look like a thumb,” she mutters as I shut the front door. “Welcome to the Odd Bird Apothecary!”

“You could never look like a thumb,” Oren says, going right up to the counter and leaning all six foot four inches forward on his elbows. “Where have you been, anyway? I keep telling Damien to bring you to the studio while we’re recording. I’m starting to think you’re avoiding me.”

Flirtatious prick. I roll my eyes. “I told you, she has a shop to run,” I say. “Stop flirting with my girlfriend.”

“Oh, come on, you can share a bit,” Oren says without even breaking his eyes from her. “I’m just talking.”

I glance at Lillith and see her cheekbones burning scarlet. She must be thinking about that time I told her that Oren and I like to share. She worries her lower lip with her teeth. Yep—definitely thinking about it.

Could be a nice birthday gift, I guess.

“Lillith, baby, if you get uncomfortable, just tell him to fuck off, alright?” I say.

“Yes, and I promise I will fuck off when you tell me to,” he says. “So, I’m wondering if you could send me off with a book recommendation for the drive?”

“Oh, sure! What are you thinking you’d like to read about?”

“Got anything hard to find about the Tarot?”

“Have you read The Qabalistic Tarot? By Robert Wang? Great hermeticist, and the book has a ton of info on the Qabalistic correspondences within the Tarot. It’s a little dense—sort of academic, for lack of a better word—”

“Sounds perfect,” he says. “Take me to it?”

“Oh, sure,” she says—well stammers, really. It’s cute seeing her flustered by Oren, watching her look at me for approval. I nod just enough for her to see, and she slides off her stool to come around the counter, her milky thighs on full display as she passes Oren and heads toward the bookshelves at the back of the store.

Oren brazenly lets his eyes drift up and down her bare legs before looking at me and mouthing oh my god.

“Yeah, I know,” I say. “Go get your book, you degenerate.”

He flips me the bird and I look over at Fletcher as Oren vanishes with Lillith. The ginger looks faintly crestfallen and I hook my arm around his neck, pulling him in and messing up his hair.

“You alright?” I ask him.

“Fine,” he says, sullenly.

“Uh huh,” I say. “You know, you could just tell him.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he chuffs.

Roxie and Wren are chatting animatedly about their respective yellow sundresses while Satoshi glares flirtatiously at Wren from behind the curtain of his stupid bangs. Wren doesn’t register it or has no interest in him, which is the best thing that’s happened today, honestly. I can’t wait to watch Satoshi fuck himself over and over again with a woman he’s interested in.

Yeah, it’s going to be a good trip. Would have been great if Lillith could have come, too, but I’ll settle for good.